


capsized due to captivation

by butchgirls



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, DID I MENTION ITS A M U SICAL, Little Mermaid Elements, Multi, ardyn is an enigma even in a little mermaid au, gladio believing in mermaids? you bet, prompto is naive and aranea is tired of his shenanigans, this is mostly self indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-04 22:12:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15156719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butchgirls/pseuds/butchgirls
Summary: The humans have long forgotten the existence of merpeople and their leader, the Oracle. With the safety of the underwater kingdom of Tenebrae assured for many generations, it's no wonder one merman would be curious enough to wander towards the surface.This is inspired by 'Kiss The Boy', written by fairygodpiggy!!





	capsized due to captivation

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Kiss The Boy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11827878) by [fairygodpiggy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairygodpiggy/pseuds/fairygodpiggy). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto and Aranea explore the ship graveyards, but the bubble is burst once Ravus finds out.

 

The lull of the sea carries many creatures below, and even holding some afloat. A particular vessel jostled with the gentle waves of the morning's wake, ever so often the spray of sea foam rolling over the planks of the deck. The royal vessel of King Regis's son bustled with seamen hollering a jolly sea shanty as they manned the sails.

" _I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue, an' it's hey to the starboard, heave ho! Brave sailor, beware, 'cause a big 'uns a-brewin'. Mysterious fathoms below!_ _Heave ho!_ "

" _I'll sing you a song of the queen of the sea, an'_ _it's hey to the starboard, heave ho!_ _The ruler of all of the oceans is she, in_ _mysterious fathoms below!_  
_Fathoms below, below!_ _From whence wayward westerlies blow!_ _Where Lunafreya may pray_ , _and_ _her merpeople stay in_ _mysterious fathoms below!_ "

Gladio's hair blew wildly behind him in the sea breeze coming off the north. The sea was like a second home to him since his liege had to take his duty to the crown all around the distant countries of Eos. He memorized many of the folk songs the sailors sang on the long voyages, this one being no stranger to him. "I do hope the sea air hasn't impaired these men's ability to deter fiction from reality," Ignis commented upon the tale the crew sang of. "Such nonsense shouldn't get in the way of one's duties."

"You used to tell me those stories about Tenebrae when I was a kid, you know. Sometimes I think you actually _believed_  in them." Noctis pointed out with a classic smug grin. If anyone were to be a pest to the royal advisor, it would be his very own prince. Gladio snickered as Ignis attempted to shut down Noctis's memory lane. He landed a firm pat to the advisor's shoulder and proceeded to poke at the topic of the mermaids. "You know, Lady Lunafreya might just be listening to you right now. You better watch your back, Iggy." He quipped before returning his ear to the homely sound of the sea shanty once more.

 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

 

"Hey, blondie! Slow down before you give me a hernia!" A voice called out in the dim abyss of the water surrounding two merfolk. It was clear weather on the surface, but light can hardly reach the depths of the ship graveyard within the shallow trenches outside Tenebrae. Bubbles of Prompto's trail lead Aranea right to the hull of a particularly ancient ship that seems to have sunk decades ago. "Look at this one, it's bound to have a lot'a good stuff!" An excited trill came from the golden tailed merman. Prompto's blonde locks floated around his face, and he pushed it back to reveal his wide grin, which seemed seldom in absence. Aranea's cow patterned tail swayed slowly as she pressed a hand on her back, feeling the strain of rushing after Prompto all morning. Apparently a ship graveyard was more important than Lunafreya's speech this morning, and she'd be damned if the queen wouldn't have a word with Prompto after his absence. _Again_. "What's so important in this wreck, anyways?" Aranea inquired with a cock of her eyebrow which expressed more irritation than interest.

Prompto inspected the rotting hull with intent of finding an opening, eventually coming to a shattered window underneath the deck. "You already know what's so fantastic about it! All of these ships have so many treasures inside them, isn't that reason enough?" He responded as he pushed himself through the narrow opening, trying to adjust his eyes to the lack of light. "I swear to the Six, I'll beat your tail in since 'miss peace and light' won't do it." The silver haired mermaid hissed as she followed him into the creaking ship. Many objects lay scattered in the wreckage of the lower deck, most of it seemed to be junk or worn from years of exposure to salt water. Prompto sifted through the various items strewn around the room, mentally noting the items he already had. Metallic objects faintly glittered with what little light streamed into the room, and he made his way past the various piles of items.

"I've never found anything like this before, and it kind of matches other stuff in the cave." Prompto mused as he examined a silver object that resembled a smaller version of a trident. "Do you think humans made this to be like the Trident of the Oracle?" His voice gasped in amazement of the thought. Humans are resourceful, so could this be a peak into what they know about merpeople!? "I doubt those land dwellers can wrap their brains around us, it's all fairytales to them." Aranea scoffed at the thought of humans. The damn things tried to hunt their species for generations, and here Prompto is just moseying through one of their sunken vessels. She'd need to knock sense into him soon, but it'd be a shame to see the excitement in his eyes go away. Besides, Aranea did find some intrigue about the world above with all this junk of their's lying around.

A change in tone quickly alerted Prompto something was off, including the light fading from the lower deck's cracks and windows. "Prompto, move!" Aranea barked as she dragged the merman away from the window by his arm. A school of fish bolted through the various small openings in the wood planks in a frenzy of panic. Prompto's wide eyes moved to the window, which revealed a rare pack of barracudas heading after the school. Usually the hunters were solitary, but luck decided to abandon ship and dropped three sizely predators. Aranea swiftly drew her lance from its holder on her back, readily pointing the long blade towards the approaching triad. On a similar note, Prompto's hand was readily on his belt, grabbing a hold of the light-weight harpoon gun. Aranea is skilled in combat from her many years of training for the Tenebraen royal guard. If the captain were to retire, then she would gain the highest commanding position. Being lower in command meant being assigned to a royal family member and to guard them, but Aranea never did give up her position of being Prompto's guard or friend. 

Prompto ran his fingers over the engraving on his streamlined machinery which read ' _Quicksilver_ '. It was a gift from Cindy when she and her grandfather were tasked in replicating human weaponry. The lead barracuda gnashed it's row of needle-like teeth as it entered through an area of shattered glass in the window. Through the routine practice taught by Cindy, Prompto pulled back the trigger of the weapon while bracing for the recoil. A sharp barb propelled towards the aforementioned barracuda, successfully lodging into the scaled flesh. The predatory fish reeled back from the sudden pain that landed near its eye, its blood rose like smoke into the water as the writhing only opened the wound further. Aranea took the opening to smoothly swing her lance across the barracuda's front. A brutal hack chopped a sizable chunk of the poor thing's flesh off. Prompto winced at the graphic display and felt pity for the creature, but the other two surely wouldn't back off from sizable prey such as a mermaid. A click sounded as he cocked his gun to prepare for another hit, and he aimed at the barracuda barreling towards himself. As it's mouth opened to snap at Prompto's glittering tail, he shot into the gaping jaws before him. Once again, blood spiraled outward from the fish with a painful sound emitting from it. 

Combat surely wasn't one of Prompto's favorite things, especially since Lunafreya always told him not to attack a sea creature unless he needed to. A predatory animal is no joke, so he shouldn't need to feel this bad about injuring something before it could rip his fins off. Aranea's tail landed a particularly harsh slam to the remaining barracuda that lunged towards her with frightening speed. With it being momentarily stunned, she struck her lance blade-down into the beast's body. Bubbles and specs of debris slowly floated around the pair as they calmed down from the surprise blood bath. "Nice shootin' out there. Cindy sure did a number with giving you a weapon like that." Aranea offered her observation as she sheathed her lance back into the holder on her back. Prompto flashed a wide grin at her as he spoke. "That's nothing, the way you slashed at 'em was so cool... and brutal." His addition came with a sheepish tone at the end. Aranea released a tired groan as she stretched her arms above her head before resuming their conversation. "Now that you got your little trinket or whatever, let's get out of here before something bites your ass off."

 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

 

The grand city of Tenebrae spans a large portion of a coral reef housing plenty of aquatic plants, particularly the sylleblossom. The blue floral blooms annually in the spring and summer when the waters gain higher temperatures. Tenebrae's streets are filled with buildings inspired by human culture, as well as the traditional coral and rock buildings spotted in other places inhabited by merpeople. It's said that the reason human culture has entered their culture is because the Nox Fleuret's have a connection to a royal human family, and they can communicate through a messenger of both land and sea. The Oracle is the female ruler of Tenebrae and the surrounding territories of the kingdom, and she harbors great powers brought by the ancient gods. Prompto happens to be related to the Oracle and her brother- the former is about to skin his tail because of how long he was out today.

Prompto slinked through the hall that lead to the grand doors of the throne room, his fins drooping and his back arched over in anxiety of the lashing that Ravus would give him for the countless time this moon cycle. Aranea gave the poor blonde a pat on his bare back as she felt sympathy for him. "Listen, you know that Luna won't let him lay a finger on you as she's done countless times. I'll take the blame this time, how does that sound blondie?" Her tone was softer than usual as she tried to comfort Prompto. He closed his eyes and shook his head in disagreement, which caused his wild locks to float around in the water "You're always covering for me, I just need to own up from now on. I'll see you later if Ravus doesn't completely lose his head." He sighed and pushed at the grand door with a bit of energy to open up the heavy entrance.

Lunafreya sat on an elaborately crafted throne at the focus of the room. The gold adornments on the rim depicted mermaids holding the traditional Trident of the Oracle, and the throne itself was a white marble in front of an ancient giant clam shell. Sylleblossoms laid wild in the planters on either side of the throne, and the blue petals floatig around the room gave it a heavenly air to match the serene Oracle. Luna rose from her seat on the throne, the trailing skirts of her top floated elegantly behind her as she moved her frilled tail to move towards Prompto.

"Prompto, I'm glad you're home safely-" Luna began speaking but was expectedly cut off by an angered pound to the wall. Ravus floated gloomily near the entrance to the throne room, his tail that faded from white to dark violet moved back and forth in an irritable manner. "You finally decided to show up. This is the umpteenth time you've left with Second Commander Aranea and returned with nearly half the day gone by. What was it this time, gazing up on the surface? Going to those poacher's ship wrecks? You're always-" Ravus was visibly enraged, but Luna returned the earlier motion by silencing Ravus with a hand in front of him. She was always the peace keeper between these two, it seemed to fit hence her role of being the Oracle.

"Ravus, calm yourself. Prompto may have been wrong to go off unannounced, but Aranea is with him at all times. He's at little risk of going to a ship in broad daylight, we both know he possesses common sense as any merfolk." Prompto perked up at Luna defending him- that was until he saw the worried expression in her eyes. "By the Astrals, please don't frighten me anymore than you do when you swim off. I wouldn't be so afraid if you didn't go near areas like the ship wreck, it's infested with predator feeding grounds." Lunafreya pulled him into an embrace as Ravus fumed at her gentleness to Prompto's actions. "For your own safety, and for Ravus and I's nerves, don't go near human wreckage any longer."

All Prompto could do was give a reluctant nod as his shoulders sagged. Lunafreya was asking him to stop going somewhere he found comfort in with all the human items he could find. After a few more moments of Luna's embrace, Prompto clutched onto the pouch of human items he collected that day hanging from his belt. This was for Luna and Ravus, and for his own well being. He could just find stuff somewhere else. He felt the world grow bigger around him as he sunk a bit closer to the floor. He turned his back to his cousins and swam towards the door of the throne room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my first fic in a long time!! thank you for taking a look, and i can assure there's more to come. this was more of an introductory and getting a feel for writing again, but i have a lot of plans for this.


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